Chayei Sarah: Fusing together Home and Heritage

This week, I want to talk to you about home, belonging, and heritage. Many of us are preparing to gather around the Thanksgiving table,

and I'm mindful of the fact that some are continuing generations-long family traditions, others are starting new rituals, and yet others are just throwing something in the microwave. Wherever you are, this holiday may still evoke nostalgic (or difficult) memories, and, good or bad, it often highlights feelings of "belonging." But it's not just a Turkey Day question; our Torah portion and our community seem to be focusing on these essential topics - and emotions - right now as well.

Our Jewish story begins with wandering. You can go all the way back to everyone's common ancestors, Adam and Eve, and see that THEY were nomads, thrown out of the Garden of Eden. A few chapters later,

Abraham and Sarah move from one place to another, searching for a place to call "home." In this week's reading, Abraham FINALLY sets down some roots, in the form of a burial plot for his wife (which will later also be used for himself, his children, and grandchildren). This plot, the Cave of Machpelah, doesn't just serve as a stake in the ground for Abraham, but thousands of years later, Jews still today point to it as justifying their return to the Land of Israel. We may have lived elsewhere for millenia, but that cave, that spot, PROVES that Israel is our home! And this, perhaps, is where home and heritage get conflated. Machpelah does indeed demonstrate our heritage and our history in Israel, but only with the formation of the Jewish State have Jews really rebuilt a home there as well. We are born into a heritage; but a home takes effort and hard work. And so does "belonging."

This past Sunday, Ohev Shalom hosted an event called the "4Ever Grateful concert." Houses of worship and community groups from around our area came together to celebrate our similarities and respect our differences. It was amazing

to see church choirs sharing the stage with rap artists, praise dances alongside a cappella groups. So often, we live siloed lives. We see, listen to, interact with, and live among people who look and act entirely like us. We do not create a sense of shared belonging, and our community and our country suffer as a result. When, in reality, we do actually share a home. And I recently learned something that I feel brings together these concepts of home, heritage, and belonging, right here in Southern Delaware County, in a fascinating new way.

Our synagogue, Ohev Shalom, began in the city of Chester, PA. Today, Chester is a struggling city, with high crime rates and tremendous obstacles to overcome. And yet, it is also a city with great pride, incredible spirit and tenacity, and a rich history and heritage that goes back centuries. The newspaper headlines may tell only of doom

and gloom in Chester, but there are many signs of hope, revitalization, and optimism. One such place is the MJ Freed Performing Arts Theater. It is an old furniture store, turned into an incredible hub of culture, music, and creativity. AND that furniture store was once owned by an Ohev Shalom congregant, M.J. Freed! In fact, his name adorns our Reception Room, and the Freed family is still active at Ohev. Like the Cave of Machpelah, it serves as a reminder that we were there! We are part of Chester, and Chester is part of us. And while today it feels more like a story of heritage, we DO still share a larger community, and we could do so much to improve one another's lives. Today in the State of Israel, people are working hard to build a home and a sense of belonging. We may not be looking to move our synagogue back to Chester, but our stories are, and should be, intertwined!

Sunday's concert reminded many of us that we are part of a rich, fascinating, diverse, and strong SHARED community. If we work
hard at it, we can create powerful connections right here between home, heritage, and belonging, and forge a better future for all our children... together. All the tools are here at our disposal, and for that, we truly should be 4Ever grateful.


Photos in this blogpost are all from the 4Ever Grateful concert on 11/20/16, taken by Crystal Burrell:
1. Crowd getting seated.
2. One of the groups that sang at the concert; the Youth Choir of Swarthmore Presbyterian Church.
3. Another group, performing a Praise Dance; Committed Vessels United Dance Ministries.
4. MCs for the concert, Rabbi Gerber and Tehran Freeman, invited their two (adorable) children to join them on stage, and together they sang "Twinkle, Twinkle." (It was unrehearsed...)
5. All our incredible performers.

Va-Yeira: Changing Your Mind About Religion

Last night, I participated in an interfaith panel at Widener University. Alongside me on the stage were representatives of Islam, various branches of Christianity, Buddhism, Baha'i, Unitarian Universalism,

and even a woman who practiced Witchcraft! It was a big panel... But one thing that really struck me about the experience, about the whole evening, was how serious and somber the students were. Even as panelists tried to joke and be a little self-deprecating or just vulnerable and real, our audience just nodded slightly and stared at us. It was unsettling. I thought to myself, this truly is how many people view religion. No laughing matter. No compassion, no kindness, no flexibility. Just grave and severe. I even tried to address the climate in the room directly, and encouraged people to smile and engage. How did they respond? They nodded slightly... and stared.

Right now, the whole world feels a little unsettled. People are nervous and stressed. Our Torah reading this week offers us a model that might help us move forward. It's not a comfortable or easy one, but helpful nonetheless. God and Abraham are friends. They talk a lot. They have a bond. Our text offers us insight into

God's internal monologue (imagine that!), where God decides to tell Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah are soon to be destroyed. Abraham doesn't like this at all. Looking at the situation objectively, we might say that this poses a threat to their friendship, to their relationship. They fundamentally disagree. Abraham takes a deep breath, and decides to risk the friendship in the interest of standing up for his own beliefs. He challenges God, stating: "Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?" (Gen. 18:23) Incredibly, God listens. God's mind is even changed, and the annihilation of Gomorrah and Sodom is postponed. In this day and age, who among us has actually changed someone's mind in an argument?? Or allowed our opinion to be shifted??? Let's be honest; that NEVER happens!

Zari Sussman, a rabbinical student at the Ziegler Rabbinical School in California, wrote a commentary on our Torah portion, and noted, "In an argument, the Godly thing to do is listen, learn, and possibly change one's own opinion." How can we move past the gridlock and

divisiveness in society today? We have to listen. I didn't say it was easy, and I certainly didn't say it was comfortable. But we must. In her article, Sussman also stated, "When I avoid debates, situations, and people who make me uncomfortable, I cheat myself out of a gift life is sending my way. Every person contains a unique spark of God, a teaching that I need to learn." It is easy to see the Divine sparks in someone who agrees with us; who is compassionate, funny, wise, or clever. But what if that person (or Higher Being) starts to talk about destruction, people getting what they deserve, and the wickedness of "those" people? Abraham didn't walk away, tune out, or "unfriend." Should we?

Religion has certainly been the cause of a lot of pain and suffering in the world. I can't deny that. But stories like these also remind us that there's a lot of compassion and unity in the texts of our tradition, and that the Torah does TRY to model good communication, mutual understanding, and moral behavior.

Nevertheless, people often view religion as authoritarian, cold, and rigid. When I talk about Guilt-Free Judaism and the importance of seeing humor in the Bible, I often get looks of confusion and disbelief. At this very moment in our lives, I think the Bible can actually help us make sense of some of the chaos around us. Our ancestors understood what we, today, are going through! They too felt our insecurity, our uncertainty about the future, and our unwillingness to see the perspective of The Other. These things are not new, so let's learn from some of their successes AND their failures. And above all, please remember that there's more to religion than just somber nodding and staring, I promise.

Photos in this blogpost:
1. Image of bumper sticker created by Piotr Młodożeniec
2. CC image courtesy of Ephraim Moses Lilien on Wikimedia Commons
3. Screen shot of "unfriend" option on Facebook
4. CC image courtesy of ThomasRibeiro25 on Wikimedia Commons

Lech Lecha: Change is Coming...

Imagine what would happen if one day everything changed. Overnight, your whole world was different; and without much emotional or physical preparation, you were given no choice but to begin a very long journey into an unknown and scary

future. Our Torah portion this week tells the tale of Abraham, and how God's unexpected command to "Lech Lecha" - "Go Forth" and leave his home left Abraham wandering off to an uncertain destiny. Whether Republican or Democrat (or neither), the results of this week's election have left us feeling a lot like Abraham; with lives full of tremendous change and upheaval. And, like Abraham, regardless of whether we're excited or fearful of what lies ahead, our only option is to start walking into it. The real question now is, what can and should we make of this experience? What can we learn, and how can we grow? Our country, and indeed our world, is very fractured; how can we try and heal together, and can Abraham give us some advice along the way?

Make no mistake, this was a terrifying moment for Abraham. In the ancient world, people just didn't DO things like this. They didn't leave home, family, tribe, and security to wander off into the desert with few

resources and no final destination. God said, "Start walking!" and eventually a goal would reveal itself. How can any of us follow Abraham's example? How do we close our eyes, give over control of self, family, and community, take that leap of faith, and trust that good things await on the other side? Sometimes it is hard - almost impossible - to feel that kind of trust. Eventually, however, Abraham arrived, and he became successful and prosperous. Even his nephew, Lot, did well. And then we read a fascinating incident in the story, which also speaks so powerfully to us at this very moment in our lives.

Abraham had flocks and herdsmen; Lot had flocks and herdsmen. And in a great nod to the classic Western movie, Abraham declared, "This town isn't big enough for the both of us!" He approached Lot and said, "Let there be no strife between

you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Let us separate: If you go left, I'll go right; if you go right, I'll go left." (Gen. 13:8-9) Does this quote not speak to precisely where we are at right now? Some of us lean left, others lean right, and it sure does feel like this place cannot sustain all of us together. And yet, we are brethren! The text actually even goes further than that. The Hebrew for "brethren" in our text is "Anashim Achim." It's a strange formulation, which we might literally translate as "we are human beings; we are brothers." We MUST see the humanity in The Other, AND we also need to keep reminding ourselves and one another that we are sisters and brothers.

These were painful moments for Abraham; leaving his home and then separating from Lot. And these are painful, chaotic, uncertain times for us as well. The thing is, we do not have the option of Lot and Abraham.

We cannot draw a dividing line, a border or a wall, and split off to the right and the left. We are in this thing together, and we need to figure out how to move forward TOGETHER. One thing that Abraham's story certainly teaches us is that progress and discovery come from dramatic change. Would any of us be here if Abraham had stayed in Haran, maintaining the status quo? Chaos and upheaval also bring opportunity, bravery, and daring. I certainly pray that we can draw strength from the lessons of Genesis, and begin to heal the deep wounds of our country. The time has come to "go forth"; let us see what awaits on the other side.

Photos in this blogpost:
1. CC image courtesy of Fordmadoxfraud on Wikimedia Commons
2. CC image courtesy of Superscramble on Wikimedia Commons
3. CC image courtesy of Howcheng on Wikimedia Commons
4. CC image courtesy of Roger McLachlan on Wikimedia Commons

Noah: Heaven Doesn't Get a Vote

There is a wonderful rabbinic tale that I really love, and which I think is particularly appropriate today, both because of this week's Torah
portion AND because of our upcoming (impending?) election. In this story, a group of rabbis are arguing over a legal matter. One of them, Rabbi Eliezer, disagrees with all the others, and he is certain he is right. He calls on various supernatural signs to testify on his behalf against his colleagues, and a tree uproots, a river runs backwards, the walls of their study hall start to crack, and even a voice from heaven proclaims the law IS, indeed, on Eliezer's side. But the other rabbis refuse to be persuaded. Not even the heavenly declaration convinces them, as they yell defiantly back at the sky: "Lo Ba-Shamayim Hee!" And Eliezer is defeated.

The rabbis' retort does not come from this week's Torah portion, if you thought that was going to be my connection. "Lo Ba-Shamayim Hee" actually comes from Deuteronomy, 30:12, and it means "It is not in heaven." In our fable, the rabbis

use it to signify that the Torah was, at one point, God's possession, and God DID write all the rules and edicts expressly in the text... BUT, then God gave us the Torah. And now it's ours. It is our responsibility to apply it to our lives, and we have to be the ones to interpret new laws based on the Torah text. "Lo Ba-Shamayim Hee" - "Your part is done, God! Thank you for the Torah; now let us handle this." A lot of Chutzpah, right? Pretty amazing that the rabbis could or would yell such a thing at God. And yet, if we continue to expect God to resolve our disputes, and we don't put our faith in human institutions and the need for us, for all humans, to take responsibility for our actions, our laws, and our planet; we are in trouble.

This week, we are once again reading about Noah and the Flood. It is, perhaps, the quintessential story of God stepping in and saving the day. Humans messed the place up - this is why we can't have nice things - and God pressed the "reset" button. At the end of the story, God says

something that is BOTH a great comfort and assurance, but also an ominous warning: "Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the devisings of man's mind are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done" (Gen. 8:21). On the one hand, God is promising never to wipe us all out again, and surely that is a VERY good thing. But on the other hand, God is also reminding us, "Lo Ba-Shamayim Hee," it is no longer God's problem to fix things when we mess them up. WE need to take responsibility! We need to interpret the laws, apply the Torah in our lives, and create a just society that will stand the test of time. We can't keep ruining things... because God won't bail us out again.

In just a few more days, we will be seeing a perfect example of this. "Lo Ba-Shamayim Hee," God doesn't decide this election; heck, God doesn't even get a single vote! (Even though some fundamentalists DO seem to believe God resides in the United States of America alone, and WOULD therefore be able to vote...) People get

frustrated, disillusioned, and jaded, and they look around at the corruption, smear tactics, and voter suppression that we see all around us, and it might look like we're back in the evil world that Noah lived in pre-flood. But that's on us! It's OUR world, and yeah, it's got a whole myriad of flaws and problems. But no one else is bailing us out. Each and every one of us must cast a vote; there are no good excuses. We are NOT living in Noah's world, and hopefully reading about his problems can help put ours in perspective. Change is not impossible, and improvement CAN happen. If we grab hold of our fate, say "thanks, God, we'll take it from here," and work collectively to build a better future; change will happen. It starts with a single vote.

Photos in this blogpost:
1. CC image courtesy of Apdency on Wikimedia Commons
2. CC image courtesy of Adiel lo on Wikimedia Commons
3. CC image courtesy of Russavia on Wikimedia Commons
4. CC image courtesy of Asdefgaheckel on Wikimedia Commons